How Plays Work

by David Edgar

How Plays Work has grown out of David Edgar’s teaching in the University of Birmingham’s MA course in playwriting studies, which he founded twenty years ago. Through historical and modern examples, the book analyzes the basic elements of dramatic structure, action, plot, character, dialogue, and genre.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Drama, Theatre, Plays

228 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

David Edgar is an English playwright. He was born in Birmingham into a family with longstanding links to the theatre. His father and mother both acted at the Birmingham Rep before moving into broadcasting, and by the age of five Edgar had written his first play and performed it in a 12 seat theatre his father built for him in his back garden.

From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ed...

Reviews

[Regret Husk · Rating 4 out of 5]

gets a bit reactionary at the end but very helpful

[william ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Play's the thing

First reaction to David Edgar exhaustive work on the nature of dramas, is how little one knows. David analyses the structure of plays from Greek tragedy to hear contemporary pieces borrowing one fancies from twentieth century critical theory and at the same time driving a taxonomy of his own. This makes it a worthy textbook, a bit taxing for a casual read and truly something in between. An interest in theatre and film is enough to make it a rewarding read and many of the considerations of a playwright are touched upon. References to Shakespeare and other classical drama will satisfy the average reader but his knowledge of late 20th early 21st century plays will leave all but the dedicated wondering. Which isn't however to say that he doesn't relate the action on which he is commenting. Just that his treatment is theoretical rather than anecdotal, while his enthusiasm comes across mainly a and leaves one wishing one knew as much about plays and the critical language for talking about them. Pre structuralists like myself may find the section on characters most rewarding.

[Kylie Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read overall. Most of the pieces discussed in this book are things you've probably read before if you've ever read a book about writing. However, Edgar's approach to teaching the art of scriptwriting goes in depth and discusses techniques in a fresh light. Some things one might find to be self-explanatory, but there are many good pointers in the book. Would recommend as a starting book for anyone who would like to write a play or for a writer who would like to reconnect with some techniques for writing a play.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a worthwhile, but a tough slog to read. I'd read a little at a time, sometimes only a couple of paragraphs. It took almost 3 years to finish.
He does a good job of illustrating ideas with plays already written so you have the option of reading them if you need clarification. Another reason it took so long to read, I have to source a couple of his suggested plays and read them before carrying on.
It's a shame it's no longer available on Kobo.

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Plays Work is an interesting and thought-provoking book that works its way through different features of a play, and how they can be used. I feel like this book might work better as one to dip in and out of, rather than one to read straight through, since the structure isn’t as clear as it could be, and Edgar packs a lot of information into each section.

[Nanishka Sánchez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for my theatre class and it is very informative on how to write and build a script/play. It is a good book for anyone that is interested in playwriting! I gave it 2 stars just because it’s tough to get through.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more useful than my undergraduate level playwriting module.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

the bountiful illustration by example helps greatly

[Levent Mollamustafaoglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Edgar is an established British playwright and he is sharing some of the techniques he believes to help successful plays in this well-written book. Using examples from classical and modern plays, he emphasises the aspects of a play that he sees as important and suggests several techniques which help to improve that particular aspect of a play. It is an easy-to-read book and gives readers and aspiring playwrights a few good directions to improve their skills in reading or watching a play as well as writing plays.

[Castille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this to playwrights and those who are aspiring playwrights. As a writer focusing on prose and screenwriting, this wasn't AS helpful to me in particular, but I did find it to be a nice introduction to a slightly different craft and it was fairly comprehensive in that I felt much of what was said could be applied universally to writing.

[Tracey Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://exeuntmagazine.com/features/ho...

[Soph :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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